The injustices of History are meant to be rectified, and the team of international singers, under the dynamic baton of Gergely Madaras, is working with conviction to resurrect one of the jewels of French romantic opera that has unfortunately fallen into oblivion. Indeed, Hulda, completed in 1885, was never staged during César Franck's lifetime. This bloody medieval legend recounts the multiple acts of vengeance by its heroine against the Aslak clan, the executioners of her family, and then against Eiolf, the unfaithful lover. The fierce embodiment by American soprano Jennifer Holloway is matched by the sinister forebodings of French singer Véronique Gens and the tender romantic gestures of Dutch artist Judith van Wanroij. While the Norwegian imagination evokes that of Wagnerian productions, the composer delves into the vein of grand French opera while adopting the Verdi-like language of the same era. The intensity of the action is reflected in harmonic and instrumental explorations that place Franck at the forefront of modernity in his time. The inventiveness of the ballet is matched only by the splendor of the choral writing. How could such a masterpiece have been forgotten? It was cleverly buried by the composer's students, who preferred to reserve for themselves the glory of embodying the lyrical renewal of the French stage.
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